Deposition of gold nanoparticles on electrospun MgTiO3 ceramic nanofibers

A simple method to deposit spherical gold nanoparticles on the surface of MgTiO3 ceramic nanofibers is presented. Electrospun MgTiO3/Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) hybrid nanofibers were calcined at 650 degrees C to obtain phase pure ceramic MgTiO3 nanofibers with 100-150 nm diameters. These ceramic nanofibers were immersed in an aqueous solution of HAuCl4 containing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as capping agent followed by photoreduction at 365 nm to get a novel Au-MgTiO3 nanocomposite. The formation of gold nanoparticles upon irradiation was confirmed by the appearance of a surface plasmon band (SPB) at 590 nm in the UV-visible absorption spectra. The surface morphology and elemental compositions were analyzed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area diffraction (SAED) pattern in TEM revealed the crystallization of gold by exhibiting strong diffractions correspond to Au(111) and Au(200) crystalline planes in addition to the MgTiO3 diffraction.